EBME Forums Forums Maintenance Technical Assistance Tools and Equipment in your shop

Hi, in another thread I told you guys about me convincing my boss to get some more tools/equipment, so I wanted to ask you guys what testing equipment and tools should I get.

I've come up with this list:
Compressor
Oxygen tanks
Multimeter
Test Lung
Logic Analyzer?
Oscilloscope?
Gas Analyzers?
Patient simulator?
Pressure meter?
ECG Simulator?
Flow Analyzer?

Do we need all of this?

Do you have an electrical safety tester yet? That should be top of the list.

The multimeter without a shadow of a doubt. I doubt there's much you could do without one.

When I started, oscilloscopes were in daily use, but not so much now. (Do you do your own calibration? Or outsource it?)

The patient safety tester/ ecg sim can be combined.

These days, I would doubt you'd use the logic analyser much.

We want to start doing our own calibration. Why are oscilloscopes not used so much now?

We buy/sell lots of ventilators, what do you think about the ventilator/flow analyzers?

Any other tools I should be aware of?

I'm not saying that 'scopes are not used so much these days in general.

I'm saying that in my experience, they tend not be used so much for repairing equipment, as so much of it is unfortunately board swapping. Of course, calibration is a different kettle of fish.

Yes, vents will require their own specialist equipment - more on that from the specialists, hopefully.

I use an Infusion Device Analyzer and a NIBP Monitor Tester on a daily basis, a Defib Analyzer is used a few times a year but is good for pacing and load testing.
Make your bosses wallet feel the pain it probably only opens once every decade so make the best of it.

with flow analysers you will want to go with one that is capable of doing ventilation parameter testing. The TSI Certifier FA Plus or the imt PF 300 are both good quality flow analysers and easy to setup and use. The PF 300 come with flowlab software which allows you to log ventilation waveforms etc.. on your computer. With gas analysers it depends on what you need to measure, the flow analysers both come with oxygen monitoring capabilities, if you require more the PF 300 does have an add-on gas module that will measure anaesthetic agents and CO2/N2O.

Let me rephrase the question, maybe we can get more answers.

I will list the equipment we have/deal with and you guys give me ideas of what tools and/or test equipments are needed to test,troubleshoot and repair them.

Xray machine (AMX 4)
Bone Densitometers
Mammography (Siemens Nova 3000)
ECG/EKG (Datascope 98)
Defibrillators
Ventilators (Babylog, Evita XL, Evita 2 Dura, Evita 4, Bird, Puritan Bennet)
Anesthesia Machines
ESU
Endoscopy/Colonoscopy/Scopes and Systems (Stryker, Olympus)
Infant Warmers
Hospital Beds
Surgical Tables
Ultrasound Machines
Apheresis Machines

So, any ideas?

Thanks

Short answer:- the first thing you need is a budget!

Medium answer:- from the list of medical equipment you have given, it looks like you will be needing "everything" when it comes to test equipment!

Longer answer:- in general, you can never have too much test equipment (and even when you find - maybe after a couple of years - that you do, you can always sell it on).

But it really all depends on what it is you're trying to do. Or, putting it another way:- what are the expectations of your customers or clients? If you are charging Big Bucks then they will most likely be expecting work (testing, etc.) carried out to traceable National Standards. And that means modern (read, expensive) test equipment, together with a regime (budget) for annual calibration by a bona fide calibration lab.

On the other hand, if you are firmly in the "fix it, and sell it on" used equipment market, then your test equipment inventory could remain, shall we say, a little more cost-effective (focused, limited, less extravagant).

You could "start small", and beg you boss for anything special as the need arises. In the list you gave at the top of the page, you might be able to do without the Logic Analyzer. Otherwise, at least one decent technicians' toolkit, plus a good quality "mechanical toolkit" are absolute "must haves". As well as at least a couple of reasonable (digital) multimeters (you can never have too many), as well as at least one analogue multimeter (you can sometimes see things on there that you may not catch with a digital type). Make up a decent soldering [desoldering] kit as well; do not scrimp too much on that one!

If I were you I would keep a sharp look-out on Government Surplus and equipment auction websites, and grab as much test kit as your finances allow.

Lastly, if you're operating at the "shade-tree" biomed level ("hired to try to repair", I think you said earlier) - possibly working for little reward (or even nowt, if working in the Charity Sector), then it is surprising what can be achieved with just a basic bag of tools, a multimeter, and a bit of thoughtful improvization! That's the fun of it.

Good Luck.

Another technique that I've found useful is to ask the question, in each case:-

"What do I need to measure"?

And then, "how can I do that" (what test equipment do I need)? And better yet:- what's the cheapest way of doing that? Back to First Principles, more often than not.

I like that idea as it forces you to really think - and maybe learn - about what the (medical) equipment is doing (rather than just pressing the "Test" button, and stiffling a yawn).

And then, once you have decided what measurements need to be made, look at your list again before researching the market with the aim of doing it all with the minimum amount of test equipment! It's an interesting and worthwhile exercise.

You can, of course, apply a similar method with tools ... seeking out stuff that can double up (has more than one use). After all, how many techs carry around tools that have never been used in anger in years, but are simply retained for their "sentimental value" (if that)? Me, for one.

One of our Mates in Australia has been in touch saying he is setting up a biomedical engineering workshop at a new hospital (lucky guy).

He was wondering if I had a list of commonly required test equipment; but only stuff that is currently (still) available.

As my own lists (if I can still find them) are somewhat "outdated" (aka ancient), I thought I had better put the question to the forum:-

Does anyone have a reasonably up-to-date list of common biomed test equipment; modern (current) stuff sufficient to kick off a new BME Department?